This invention generally relates to computing devices with multiple video inputs.
A common use for computers is to display videos from a CD-ROM, hard disk drive or other video stream. Currently, this can be implemented by feeding the video stream directly into the graphic display controller or going into a decoder usually in a peripheral device or a chip set on the motherboard. The video stream could also come from an analog input line. However, the video stream could come along any communications path such as the data bus coming off the modem, the local area network or any other means that the computer gets input from. Yet, although the computer can receive several video streams, the graphics display controller can only receive the video streams one at a time through its video port; therefore, a mechanism is needed to buffer each video stream and alternate between them so that the video display will receive only one at a time.
This is a system and method of receiving multiple video streams into a computing device. The system and method convert those multiple video steams into one video stream so that the graphics display controller sees only one stream. The present invention would work with a standard graphics display controller without modification. In addition, the system and method of the present invention would also save valuable microprocessor time because the system processes the video streams, not the microprocessor. Moreover, the system would lessen the traffic on the communications busses because of the elimination of the microprocessor in the buffering scheme. This multi-video stream controller would include a means to accept multiple video streams at one time; a means to convert multiple video streams to one single video stream and a connection to the graphics display controller.
This is a system and method of processing multiple video streams for a computing device. The system may comprise: a central processing device; a communications bus connected to the central processing device; an input device connected to the central processing device by the communications bus; an output device connected to the central processing device by the communications bus; a multiple video stream processor connected to the output device by the communications bus; and at least two video streams connected to the multiple video stream processor.
In addition, the video streams may include input from a CD-ROM, PCMCIA cards, storage devices, peripherals on docking stations and other communications devices. Moreover, multiple video processing device may include input from zoom video ports, buffers and digital-to-analog converters, and a reformatting device. Other devices and systems are also disclosed.